Touhou Strikers - The Silver Lining
by J The Observing Author
Summary: In the distant future, humanity is on the verge of extinction by the alien beings known as CANY. In a desperate attempt to fight back, a young man is sent back in time, bringing something that will determine the fate of not only humanity, but also for the land of fantasy, Gensokyo. Please comment/review.
1. Doomed Future to Present-Day Gensokyo

**Greetings, fellow authors and readers! I am J the Observing Author, a writer with a passion for every game I get to play on! Welcome to Touhou Strikers, an epic tale of science, magic, and a homage to many other shoot 'em ups that I could think of!**

**Indeed, this is going to be a rather lengthy series, as you can see. I try to make the format simple enough for readers to understand.**

**Regardless, if you readers are willing to read this story, then I bid you welcome to my interpretation of the Touhou universe, and I hope you readers enjoy this story!**

**And I personally thank Terrarian Creeper and his Muse for their help and support. Without them, this story wouldn't be posted at this site. By the way, Terrarian Creeper is the author of "Boundless World of Danmaku". You readers should check it out.**

**Of course, Touhou belongs to ZUN. I only own the Original Characters and the plot.**

* * *

_In the year 2514, humanity was at its peak. Most of the nations were united under a common rule, wars and disputes were mostly settled, and people began to venture out to space._

_But, it wasn't all peaches and cream; as humanity ventured further into space, a new alien race attacked them. Upon the wake of this catastrophic event, the new enemy addressed themselves to humanity as CANY._

_Humanity valiantly defended itself against CANY, but they were unprepared by the scale of the forces that C.A.N.Y. has employed. Many lives were lost, cities were levelled, and even the moon was utterly destroyed. People have begun to lose hope . . ._

In an armored boat off the coast of Japan, I finished listening to a little history video on my tablet concerning the CANYinvasion of Earth. Afterwards, I closed my tablet and sighed. This going to be a long day . . .

* * *

**Touhou Strikers: The Silver Lining**

**Chapter 1: Doomed Future to Present-Day Gensokyo**

* * *

I checked the on my tablet and saw that it was already around 4:13 in the afternoon. Acknowledging the current time, I turned off my tablet and I began to look at my surroundings. I was riding on an armored boat, heading towards a meticulous facility in an artificial island.

Anyway, I was not alone on the armored boat. I was accompanied by a squadron of soldiers. They were battle-hardened, and most of them didn't even bother to speak to me. I guess that's one of the qualities of them being 'professional' at their job.

As I peered on the open window, I could see the devastation that the CANY invasion has left behind. Upturned boats, skeletons of tanks, bloodied corpses, and buildings on the verge of collapse were prominent on the landscape. I probably regretted coming here, but given the situation humanity has, I have to come to terms with it anyway.

"Hey kid, what're you looking at the windows anyway?"

One of the soldiers asked me that particular question. I smiled, knowing at least one of them would be sociable enough to have a little chit-chat at this time.

"I was just looking at the devastation outside," I replied. "I know that CANY is known for their brutality but this-"

"Yeah, I know that kid," The soldier replied. "You've gotta face the reality. There's no point of denying the facts."

Yes, I know that too well. Due to the CANY's invasion, many youths were forced to serve military terms to replenish the fallen soldiers in battle. That was the gruesome fate that awaited many students who finished their high school. Such innocence that childhood presented and the joys of the teenage life were abruptly cut short.

However, I was rather saved my older sister, who persuaded me to join her group called STRKERS and she wanted me to undertake a 'special project' that she and her husband developed to counter CANY. Whatever that project will be, I just hope her husband doesn't inject me with nanites again. Those little mechs inside my body made me sick for a week! My sister and husband explained that I fell sick because my body was adjusting to the nanites. Whether I believed them or not doesn't matter in the long run anyway.

"Hang on kid," The soldier said. "We're almost there."

I peered at the window once more. Just as the soldier has said, the Cybernetic Industries was visible in the background. The Cybernetic Industries was a company primarily focused on cybernetics and nanotechnology. During the CANY invasion, they helped supply armies with cybernetic parts for the amputated soldiers and nanites for accelerated bio-regeneration. There were many missile turrets scattered around the compound in case it was attacked by CANY. As we arrived at the port, the soldiers were busy arming themselves; I was approached by the same soldier I talked to earlier.

"Okay kid, we're nearing the rendezvous point," The soldier explained. "You'd better get ready-"

Suddenly the soldier put his right hand on his helmet. As I could barely hear it, I assumed that the soldier received an urgent call from his superiors. As the call ended, he grabbed my hand.

"Change of plans kid," The soldier urgently said. "We need to leave this boat now."

"W-what's going on?" I hesitantly asked.

"Those CANY bastards are gonna attack this place," The soldier explained. "We need to enter Cybernetic Industries ASAP-"

Suddenly, the armored boat came under fire. All of us ducked for cover as the armored boat was pelted with bullets from all sides. I closed my eyes as I could hear bullets deflecting and ricochets were heard across the boat. It seemed that the assault lasted for a long time.

After a while, silence filled my boat. I opened my eyes, stood up and I was horrified at the condition of the other people on the boat. Dead, bloody bodies were lying on the hull of the boat, and bullet holes riddled the supposedly armored boat; those two things made me sick to the bone.

"Don't just stand there," A voice said to me. "We gotta move!"

I looked back and saw the same solder that I talked earlier. Like me, he was relatively unscathed, but from his expressions he was just as horrified at the loss of his comrades.

"I know, but this isn't the time for mourning," The soldier urged. "I'm going to escort you for the sake of my fallen comrades. So, grab a pistol and when you do, we'll start heading for the Cybernetic Industries."

Upon the hearing the soldier's words, I searched the bodies for a more suitable weapon and found it. It was a laser pistol. With a generous battery size, tight shot grouping at range, resilience to extended use, and fairly decent damage output, the laser pistol was a very practical choice for a sidearm. I picked it up along with the additional ammo and placed them in my bag.

"So, you chose a laser pistol, huh?" The soldier smirked. "Not bad, kid. Now, let's go."

* * *

As we stepped into the outside, we were greeted by a very gruesome sight. The skies were as dark as the night, missile turrets were firing meticulously, and they were firing at the CANY spider mechs that were literally falling from the sky.

"Come on," The soldier said. "Follow my lead."

As we ran to the Cybernetic Industries, I could see people running in random directions. Some of them were brutally killed by the CANY mechs, others fought valiantly against them. The soldier and I didn't pay much attention to them, as our objective was to find a way inside the facility.

As we reached the front entrance, we were greeted a massive amount of rubble that blocked the passage.

"Damn, the front entrance is sealed," The soldier cursed. "We need to go at the back entrance."

Well, that certainly complicated things for us. It's just a matter of time before those CANY mechs began to look for us.

We ran towards the back entrance as quickly as our feet would take us. The sounds of missiles and gunfire were still audible to my ears; my gut was telling me that if we don't get inside the facility, we'll be gunned to death by those CANY mechs.

As we reached the back entrance, the soldier grabbed the door and attempted to open it. But, it turned out the door was locked.

"Well, it isn't that convenient?" The soldier remarked. "Fortunately, I've got some C4 charges. Better stand back, kid."

As he planted the C4 charge at the door, I hugged the wall and braced for the miniature explosion. Moments later, there was a loud bang, and the door was open and was unhinged from the wall.

"Let's go in," The soldier said. "We might face some CANY mechs inside, so you'd better be prepared."

In response, I readied my laser pistol and we went inside the Cybernetic Industries.

* * *

As we went inside, I was surprised that the interior of the building was relatively intact as opposed to the exterior. Most of the things were still arranged neatly, there were no bullet marks, and the lights were still functioning properly. The only things that were out of place were the absence of people other than us and the sound of gunfire coming in the next room.

"Better get ready," The soldier warned me. "When the door opens, you'd better ready your weapon."

As the soldier opened the door, I was horrified at what I saw. Corpses were scattered around the area, and there were people that were severely injured, but still alive; they were crawling out of the room. However, they were gunned down like the rest, and I got to see the perpetrator.

It was one of those spider mechs; I assume it came from above due to the huge gap present on the ceiling. As soon as it gunned down the last injured human, the mech turned its attention towards us.

"Take cover!" The soldier shouted.

The mech attacked us first unleashing its salvo of bullets from its gatling gun in our direction, forcing us to hide. Bullets fly in a single direction as I clutched to my laser pistol.

When the storm of bullets ended, the soldier nodded and we emerged out of our cover and fired at the mech. As I fired on the spider mech, I intentionally aimed at the leg joints to disable its movement. On the other hand, the soldier fired at the weapons of the mech, successfully jamming it.

Not long after we fired at it, the crippled mech retaliated by firing its gatling gun once more; but due to the soldier damaging it, the attempt backfired on the mech horribly, and it exploded, sending shrapnel all over the place and forcing us to take cover.

When all was done, we left our cover and we saw the mech was utterly destroyed by its own weapons. It's a case of death by irony, I took note at that.

"Don't celebrate yet kid," The soldier warned. "These Scouts are mere cannon fodder for CANY."

These mechs are called Scouts? I'll take note of that, thank you very much. Seeing that there were no more mechs on the area, we proceeded towards the elevator.

* * *

As we walked in the corridor leading to the elevator, a question began to form in my mind. I'm quite curious to the soldier that was accompanying me. Who was he, and what are his motivations and the like?

"So, do you have a name?" I asked him.

"So a kid like you wants to know my name," The soldier smirked. "Alright, my name's Smith."

So, his name was Smith? Then, I'm glad that this soldier was nice enough to tell me his name.

"Okay, I'm Frank Shinka Kizuna," I introduced to the solder. Upon seeing the soldier grinned, I asked again. "Smith, why did you become a soldier?"

"You're really that fond of asking trivial questions, don't you?" Smith replied. "If you're curious, I was recruited as soon as I finished high school. Yeah, you can say that it is tough fighting CANY, but it's a lot more satisfying than settling down for some mundane job."

"Are you saying that you like to fight as a soldier?" I retorted.

"Kid, I didn't enlist myself because I wanted to be a soldier," Smith replied. "It's because I wanted to fight for my fellow siblings in arms."

I could understand what he was saying to me. I guessed by enlisting as a soldier, Smith was contributing to the society by fighting the CANY invaders.

When we reached for the elevator, I pressed one of the buttons and waited for the door to open. Suddenly, a small squadron of CANY mechs appeared behind us, making the situation even more complicated.

"I'll take care of these tin cans," Smith said. "You go to the elevator ASAP."

"What about you?" I replied.

"Nah, don't worry about me," Smith smiled at me. "Your safety is more important than mine."

Soon afterwards, a beep was heard and the elevator doors opened.

"Now go to the elevator and don't look back!" Smith shouted.

I did as he told and ran like hell towards the elevator. I went to the corner and pressed the 'close' button on the switch. As the elevator doors began to close, I saw bullets riddle one side of the elevator with holes. When the elevator was fully close, I slumped at the floor as it transported me down to the deepest parts of this facility.

* * *

Somewhere at the far reaches of space, CANY's elite personnel were observing the assault on the Cybernetic Industries in their battleship. In particular, one of the video feeds showed a bloodied corpse of a man in a secluded corridor near an elevator.

"What was the status of the assault?" An elite clad in blue asked.

"The assault is initially successful," Another elite clad in orange answered. "However, two humans have entered the facility through the back entranced. One of them is dead, courtesy of our mechs. The other slipped into the elevator going to the lower levels."

"This isn't good at all," The blue elite grimaced. "The Chaos Queen wouldn't accept this flaw in the plan . . ."

"Then, we'll compensate for the flaws," The orange elite answered. "Our forces will find that human eventually."

"If you say so," The blue elite agreed as they resumed their observation.

* * *

As the elevator continued to travel further down, I was worried about Smith. Did he make it out alive? Based on the number of mechs that he had to fight, I highly doubt that he'll survive that assault.

I slapped myself back to reality. Whoever Smith was, he actually sacrificed himself for my safety. I wouldn't let his sacrifice be wasted!

As the elevator doors opened once more, I cautiously ventured out to another corridor. Unlike the previous corridor, this one only had one straight path; at least it made things a lot easier for me.

As I reached the end of the corridor, I stood in front a high security door. There was a voice recognition speaker on both sides of the door. I approached one of the speakers and spoke out loud.

"Anyone can hear me?"

Moments passed, and only silence greeted my ears. Seriously, I was assuming that no one was in that room until a familiar voice replied back to me.

"Ah, we've been waiting for you, Frank! Come in!"

That was the voice of my older sister. Thank heaven she's still alive! Anyway, the reinforced door opened and I get to see my older sister once again.

"Lumina, is that you?" I replied at the speakers. "Thank heavens you're alive!"

"Frank, I'm glad you're here too!" She said as she hugged me. And then, her mood suddenly changed as she rebuked me. "Anyway, what took you so long? You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"Yes sis, I'm aware of that," I replied. "By the way, is Doc Brown with you?"

"Yeah, Proton is with me," Lumina replied, letting me go. "In fact, he's more anxious to meet with you once again."

"Then, I'll go to Doc Brown," I concluded as the reinforced doors closed again. "I hope it's something other than a nanite injection . . ."

* * *

As Lumina and I went to Doc's study, we found the person in question was sitting in a table; Proton was busy transferring the remaining data to a portable remote control-like device. In fact, he was engrossed at his work that he didn't paid attention to us at all.

"Honey, did you bring someone with you?" Proton said. "Tell that person to leave. I don't want to obtain another one of those 'cake' deliveries. They always prank me with those lies!"

"Uh, I brought my brother here, like you requested," Lumina replied.

"You said 'Frank', right?" Suddenly, Proton shifted his attention from his project to me and my sister. "Frank, it's good to see you again!"

"Yeah, it's good to see you Doc," I sheepishly replied. "Just don't inject me with those nanites again."

"Nonesense! Those nanites are gonna be beneficial to your body in the long run!" Proton blurted aloud. "That subject aside, I want to give you something."

He handed three things to me. Those things were a mystery box with a big red button, a bag I presume to be full of money, and a strange remote control-like device.

"Uh, what are these things?" I asked.

"I can't tell you yet what that mystery box is," Proton teased by wagging his right index finger. "But, the money bag is full of yen, and that device contains the EVOLVE system."

"The evolve who what now?" I was confused at his explanation.

"The EVOLVE stands for Evolving Valiant Offensive Linking Vigilant Environmental," My sister explained. "It's a battlesuit that consists of nanomachines that can be condensed to form a battlesuit at the command of its user."

"I assume that's the reason why you injected me thrice with nanites," I acknowledged; Proton let out a grin in response. "That's good to know."

"That's not all," Proton added. "The system comes with one of the most power AI ever developed. Say hi to Frank for me."

Suddenly, the remote control-like device began to glow green and spoke to me in a masculine voice.

_"Statement: Greetings new user. I am the AI of the EVOLVE system. Please refer to me by same name as the system."_

This is incredible; the remote just talked to me! I couldn't believe that they developed this in a short span of time. I guess being injected with nanites was probably worth it.

"As incredible as the EVOLVE system is, I'm afraid that Lumina and I are not its creators," Proton acknowledged. "The EVOLVE system is the ultimate masterpiece of our mentor, Yumemi Okazaki."

"Yumemi Okazaki?" I retorted. "From what I've heard, Yumemi Okazaki is a scientist that was ridiculed amongst the scientific community. I can't believe she would create something like this!"

"Believe it or not, she created the EVOLVE system; Lumina and I were the ones entrusted by her to finish its development upon her last breath," Proton nonchalantly replied. "Oh, there's one more thing I need to show you. This time, it's an invention my wife and I truly created."

Proton pressed a button on the table; a nearby wall retracted and flipped over, revealing a huge cylinder that resembled the interior of an elevator. The most prominent feature of the device is the huge clock that was featured at the front. As soon as I saw the clock, I instantly recognized that device from many fictional works.

"Am I seeing things?" I blurted. "You two built a freaking time machine!"

"You don't have to shout!" My sister nagged me. Then, she regained her composure and explained. "And yes, we built this machine to travel back in time when CANY wasn't a threat to the world."

"Let me guess; you two are planning to send me back in time to destroy CANY before they invade the Earth," I summarized. "Are you two nuts?!"

In an instant, I received two karate chops to the head. I comically clutched my head in pain from the blows.

"Keh, ouch," I groaned. "What was that for?!"

"Don't underestimate our scientific prowess!" Proton exclaimed. "By defeating CANY in the past, we can potentially avert the disaster we're facing at the present!"

"That's why we built this prototype time machine," My sister continued. "To simplify it for you: The plan is to send you back in time, find the CANY HQ, and destroy them."

Sure, the plan was simple to explain, but I felt as though they didn't consider other, more practical choices.

"Uh, did you even consider other options?" I protested. "Did you two consider developing more sophisticated weapons or even a robot army?"

The couple looked at each other and shrugged before one of them answered to me.

"Uh, we did consider those, but given the limited time and resources, we didn't go through those options," Lumina replied.

You know, I couldn't blame them for their choices. After all, they are the best at what they do; who am I to complain?

"I guess we can't complain on the choices you two made," I sighed. "Let's just go with it-"

Suddenly, the reinforced door bended and bullets began to pierce through the room. I retreated behind the time machine as Lumina began to configure the time machine console and Proton became alert.

"Darn it, those CANY mechs are here!" Proton exclaimed as he grabbed a laser pistol. "Frank, you need to enter the time machine now."

"What about you two?" I asked. Truthfully, I don't want them to meet the same fate as Smith.

"We can take care of ourselves," Lumina replied as she entered the coordinates on the time machine. "We're going to send you back in time in approximately 500 years-"

Suddenly, a stray bullet from one of the CANY mechs pierced through the delicate electronics; Lumina backed off as sparks was emitted from the damaged console.

"Damn it, I wasn't done with inputting the exact location," She gritted her teeth. "At least I've inputted the exact number of years to go back, but the location was truly randomized."

"It doesn't matter since he'll travel back to the same time period anyway!" Proton shouted as he fired his pistol on the incoming mechs. "Tell Frank to get inside and activate the time machine!"

"You heard what he said," My sister urged. "Get in."

I grabbed the mysterious box, the money bag, and the EVOLVE system and put them in my bag, and then I entered the time machine.

"Frank, good luck," My sister said as she put her left hand on the glass. "I hope I can see you again."

I didn't speak any words; instead, I put my right hand to match her left hand. I saw tears flowing from her eyes as she activated the time machine. A bright, white light engulfed me, and moments later, a bright flash of light engulfed my eyes, and then my mind lost consciousness . . .

* * *

The moment I regained consciousness and opened my eyes, I realized that I was covered in a futon underneath a kotatsu. And from the surroundings, I realized that I was in an old-fashioned Japanese home, inside of a shrine in particular.

"Who, what, and where the heck am I?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, you're really that jittery when you wake up, huh?" Someone replied to me. A pair of hands opened the door and a shrine maiden entered the room.

She was a girl who was slightly younger than me. She was wearing a modified red and white shrine maiden outfit. As I continued to keep an eye on her, I noticed that she was holding a tray containing two cups of warm tea. She had a neutral expression on her face, but she was keeping an eye on me, as if she had found something new and unique.

"I was beginning to doubt that you'll wake up," The shrine maiden remarked. "After all, it seemed you rolled down the staircase when I found you."

"I did?" I scratched my head. I couldn't recall anything when I became unconscious. "Nonetheless, thank you for saving me. My name is Frank Shinka Kizuna. And you are?"

A smile formed on the lips on the shrine maiden; as she put the tray down to the kotatsu, I assumed that I somehow satisfied her with my honesty.

"Frank Shinka Kizuna? That's the first time I've heard such a name for an outsider," The shrine maiden chuckled. "Anyway, I am Reimu Hakurei and welcome to the land of fantasy, Gensokyo."

**End of Chapter**

* * *

**To be continued in . . .**

**Touhou Strikers: The Silver Lining**

**Chapter 2: Explanations, Insights, and Demonstrations**

**The next chapter is on its early stages.**

**So, please wait kindly until the next update . . .**


	2. Explanations, Insights, and Battles

**Greetings, fellow authors and readers! I am J the Observing Author and I welcome you readers to Touhou Strikers, an epic tale of science, magic, and a homage to many other shoot 'em ups that I could think of!**

**Indeed, this is going to be a rather lengthy series, as you can see. I try to make the format simple enough for readers to understand.**

**This chapter will focus on how the EVOLVE system works and we will have our first official battle for this series!**

**And I personally thank Terrarian Creeper and his Muse for their help and support. Without them, this story wouldn't be posted at this site.**

**Of course, Touhou belongs to ZUN. I only own the Original Characters and the plot.**

* * *

"Argh! Where did that human went to?" The blue-clad elite exclaimed.

In a super carrier in the far reaches of space, two CANY's elite personnel continued to monitor the situation of the CANY invasion of Earth.

"CANY's plans for humanity's extinction would've succeeded if it weren't for those humans and their blasted time machine!" The orange-clad elite added. "Not to mention that we lost contact from our Scouts that we sent after them!"

Suddenly, the monitor began to change its screens to that of a being shrouded in a feminine silhouette. Both the blue and orange elite cringed at the sight of the silhouetted being that was on their monitor; it was the leader of CANY, the dreaded Chaos Queen.

"I assume you two are doing your jobs as usual," The Chaos Queen said to the two elites.

"Teal Indigo, reporting for duty," The blue elite reported.

"Eren Naranja, reporting for duty!" The orange elite announced.

"Good, so what is the status report?" The Chaos Queen asked.

"Ah, the situation on Earth initially went as planned," Teal replied "But, we just hit a stumbling block."

"And that obstacle is?" The Chaos Queen repeated.

"One of the humans that entered the Cybernetic Industries managed to escape our grasp," Eren explained. "The human apparently used a time travel device to escape, Ma'am."

"Are you saying that the humans have a time machine in their possession?" The Chaos Queen iterated.

"Yes and the strange part was we lost contact with the squadron of Scouts that were after that human," Teal added.

The Chaos Queen remained silent as Teal finished her report. Eren looked back and forth at Teal and the monitor before he asked his question.

"Ma'am, do you have any plans to deal with this?" Eren asked.

"Fret not, I have already devised a plan to find that human and eliminating him," The Chaos Queen replied. "Hahaha, those humans have absolutely no idea that CANY invented time travel several decades before they did! In fact, I've sent one of my Chaos Generals to deal with that problem."

"C-chaos Generals?!" Teal exclaimed. "Are you referring to the seven generals that you personally handpicked?"

"Yes, and I know that they excel at what they do," The Chaos Queen remarked. "Do you two have any inkling as to what time and location the human time-travelled?"

Eren and Teal exchanged glances as neither one of them could answer the question of the Chaos Queen.

"Hm, I assumed you two don't have any answers to that question," The Chaos Queen mused. "The human went back into a pocket dimension, the land of fantasy that is known as . . . Gensokyo."

* * *

**Touhou Strikers: The Silver Lining**

**Chapter 2: Explanations, Insights, and Battles**

* * *

Let's see what I've experienced lately: I was escorted to a facility when CANY decided to attack, the whole escort sacrificed their lives for my safety, I was sent back in time, and finally, I find myself inside a shrine with its maiden talking to me.

"Am I hearing this right?" I reiterated. "Are you saying that I'm in a fantasy land where the supernatural exists?"

"Yup, that's Gensokyo in a nutshell," Reimu replied. "If you still don't believe me, why don't you go outside and see for yourself?"

I followed Reimu to the outside and I was awestruck at what I saw.

"It's beautiful," I uttered. "I haven't been to a place this beautiful before!"

True, in the time period I belonged to, the beauty of the world has been scarred by constant fighting against CANY Many species of animals and plants from forests across the world were driven to extinction by the actions of the war on both sides.

"Reimu, I humbly apologize for my brash actions," I bowed to Reimu. "It's just that . . . it's been my first time to see a place that has kept its beauty."

"There's no need to apologize," Reimu smiled. "Your reactions are typical to that of many outsiders that I had met before."

Then, my pockets vibrated as EVOLVE suddenly spoke his opinions.

_"Statement: Improper human behavior if subject Frank Shinka Kizuna acted opposite to executed actions."_

"Hm, where did that voice came from?" Reimu suddenly asked me.

Oh crap, I forgot to tell her about EVOLVE. Well, since she saved my life and I'm in her debt, I really should tell the truth to her.

"Okay, I really owe you an explanation for him," I replied as I took the EVOLVE remote from my pocket and showed it to her. "Reimu, this is EVOLVE. He is my companion . . . sort of."

_"Greetings fellow human subject, I am EVOLVE and my systems are integrated with my user Frank Shinka Kizuna."_

"Integrated?" Reimu asked in confusion. "Can you please explain further?"

". . . This is going to take some time," I sighed.

* * *

So, I told her the distant future in which I came from, how Earth was invaded my mechanical aliens, and what EVOLVE was. She was drinking her tea; her eyes never left their sights on me as I finished telling my tale.

"So, you and that thing came from the future, the outside world is being invaded, and you came here by time-travel," Reimu summarized. "Uh huh, I'll give you a benefit of a doubt on your explanation."

"So, that's it?" I became flabbergasted at her reply. "And I thought you wouldn't believe at everything I said."

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but I have experienced and seen many so many things that something like time travel doesn't surprise me anymore," She replied in a deadpan manner.

My goodness, either I was happy or creeped out by her remark. However, as I look on Reimu's expression, I realized she was conveying the truth on both her expressions and her words. And besides, I just arrived here. So in order to survive on this world, I need help from an expert; in which the expert in question is facing me with a serious look on her eyes.

"Since you were honest enough to explain who you are and where you came from, allow me to explain my role here in Gensokyo," Reimu said to me. "I serve the Hakurei shrine as its priestess, and one of my duties is to protect the humans of Gensokyo from vicious, hostile youkai."

"Youkai?" I repeated that word. "You mean those mythical beings that are rumored to feed on human flesh?"

"Mythical they are on the outside world, but in Gensokyo, youkai are all too real," Reimu replied. "And the number of youkai exceeds that of humans in Gensokyo."

Yikes, it seemed that time travel has transported me to a death world of sorts. It's very unsettling to think that a youkai could lurk in a forest, waiting for a chance to hunt you down and dine on your flesh.

"Well, that's . . . something to think about," I sheepishly grinned. "So, how do you resolve conflicts with youkai?"

"It's simple; we usually resolve conflicts in Gensokyo in a spell card duel," Reimu answered my question.

Did she mention about spell cards? Come to think of it, it's like an eastern equivalent of Spellbooks used my wizards from the books I've read about.

"I bet you don't know about spell cards, do you?" Reimu assumed as she handed a blank spell card to me. "Now, concentrate your mind and focus on the spell card."

I held the spell card tag in my right hand and concentrate as hard as I could. After a few seconds, I opened my eyes and the spell card tag . . . remained the same.

"Strange," Reimu wondered. "Why did the spell card not work with you?"

The EVOLVE remote that was on my hand blinked once again, with the AI offering the shrine maiden a possible explanation.

_"Theory: physiology of subject Frank Shinka Kizuna genetically distinct from the average human,"_ EVOLVE suggested. _"Conclusion: Incompatibility with the Spell Card system."_

Well, if the conflicts in Gensokyo were resolved by using spell cards, that actually puts me on a disadvantage here, relatively speaking.

"You know, it's okay if I can't use or create spell cards," I returned the blank spell card to Reimu. "After all, I can still participate in danmaku battles with the help of EVOLVE anyway."

If Doc Brown's proven right, EVOLVE could help me survive in Gensokyo. But first, I need to figure out how the EVOVLE system works.

"Well, whatever forms of danmaku you can generate is fine, just don't go over your head," Reimu walked to a closet and picked up a broom and a rake. She gave the two items to me. "But, you'll do the housework for the rest of the day though."

"Housework?" I repeated. "You mean that this is the price to pay for saving me?"

"I suppose you could say that, but a more appropriate reason is that no one freeloads in my shrine," Reimu smirked. "Except for Suika, but she isn't here at the moment."

"And where are you going while I do your housework?" I asked.

"I'm going to the Human Village to restock my supplies," Reimu answered before she floated in the air. "I expect you to be done with these when I come back!"

"Wait!" I called back, but alas the shrine maiden flew away, leaving me with a rake, a broom, and a chore to maintain the Hakurei shrine.

_""Assessment of human shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei: Lazy and reliant on others for menial tasks,"_ EVOLVE summarized. _"Feature Unlocked: Flight."_

"You took the words right out of my mouth," I agreed. And then, my eyes bulged when EVOLVE said the second sentence. "Say what?!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Reimu was flying over a forest canopy. As she was heading for the Human Village, she was thinking about the outsider, Frank Kizuna.

"This doesn't add up at all," Reimu muttered. "That boy from the future, he claims that he was sent here by time travel. . . I don't buy it. I bet Yukari sent him here-"

"Did you call for me?" A familiar voice replied to Reimu.

A purple gap with multiple eyes tore through the fabric of space, and a blonde woman appeared through the gap. Reimu instant recognized the blonde woman and she became wary of her presence.

"Yukari!" Reimu gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Yukari raised an eyebrow upon being called by Reimu. She picked her fan and covered her face.

"Calm down Reimu, you don't have to utter my name like that," Yukari replied. "So, how was your day?"

Reimu and Yukari began to eye on each other. Reimu suspected that the gap youkai wasn't just here to greet her; thus she swallowed her suspicions and confronted the blonde woman.

"Yukari, I know you came not just to greet me," Reimu demanded. "Cut the greetings and answer my question: Did you send that outsider to Gensokyo?"

Yukari retracted her fan, and a smile appeared on her face when she listened to Reimu's question.

"Oh, are you referring to this outsider?" Yukari opened another gap, which showed Frank cleaning the floors of the Hakurei shrine. "Nope, I don't recall gapping him here."

Reimu's glare on Yukari became more intensified. Her suspicions on Yukari's involvement in spiriting the outsider just got more convincing for her.

"I don't buy it," Reimu glared at the youkai. "You're lying to me, Yukari."

"Reimu dear, do I look like I'm lying to you?" Yukari leans and stared at Reimu eye to eye. "Usually, if I gap an outsider to Gensokyo, they'll be ordinary humans with no powers whatsoever. However, this particular human travelled to Gensokyo in his own way, which he explains to be time travel, right?"

However, Reimu's expressions remained unchanged, despite Yukari Yakumo's attempts to diffuse the situation in her own way. Seeing that the expression of the shrine maiden remained unchanged, the gap youkai mentally sighed and closed her eyes.

"I can see that you do not believe me," Yukari assumed. "Oh well, whether you believe on my words or not won't matter in the long run. Yet, I've become . . . interested at that outsider."

Yukari began to descend through the gap, but the shrine maiden was eager to hear more words from her.

"Yukari, wait!" Reimu called out. "You didn't explain everything to me!"

Before the blonde youkai disappeared into the gap, she emerged from it to give the shrine maiden a cryptic message.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that the Hakurei barrier is weakening," Yukari said to Reimu as she began to enter the gap. "Trust me; with his gadgetry and skills, that outsider will be of great assistance to Gensokyo when that time comes."

With those cryptic words spoken, Yukari Yakumo disappeared in her gap. As the gap closed, Reimu floated in the air, mentally noting Yukari's cryptic message that she said to her.

"Yukari Yakumo," Reimu muttered. "Just what are you planning this time?"

* * *

Whew, it was taxing, but I managed to clean up the Hakurei shrine. I've swept the floor with the mop, and put the fallen leaves in their place with the rake. True, it was hard work, but I felt satisfied by it. As the chore was finished, I sat down at the porch of the Hakurei shrine; then, I recalled what EVOLVE said to me earlier.

"So EVOLVE, I'm confused," I asked the AI. "Based on what you said earlier, did you mean that I can customize with the system?"

Suddenly, a bright light shone from the remote control, and when my eyes followed the light, it turned out that a remote was projecting a hologram. The hologram showed the basic appearance of the EVOLVE battlesuit. The battlesuit was silver in color from head to toe, and green tron lines adorned the battlesuit. The battlesuit also had an extremely efficient cooling system and reliable radar to monitor enemies close by.

_"Explanation: EVOLVE system can potentially create new features by observing phenomena," _EVOLVE explained. _"Example: Please retrieve the laser pistol and place it within range of the remote control."_

I did what EVOLVE has suggested and brought out my laser pistol in front of the remote control. Suddenly, the remote control floated in the air and scanned the laser pistol using a green horizontal beam. Then, the laser pistol began to disintegrate bit by bit in many packets of light, which was absorbed by the remote control.

"What, the laser pistol is gone!" I exclaimed.

Wow, am I hearing this right? I just saw the laser pistol being assimilated by the EVOLVE system! As the remote landed to the palm of my right hand, I could hear static in its speakers, indicating that EVOLVE was not done explaining things to me.

_"Explanation: Nanites broke down the weapon and assimilated it into the database. Weapon Breakthrough: Laser Cannons now available.__ Note: Requires confirmation of current user, human Frank Shinka Kizuna. Orders?" _

Hm, there were so many parts that the laser cannons could be installed into. In that case, the most practical part for the laser cannon installation was. . .

"If that is the case, please install the laser cannon on the arms of the battlesuit," I replied.

_"Request Granted: Installing laser cannons . . . please wait for a moment."_

As the system began to install the laser cannons on the arms of the battlesuit, I was wondering about the flight mechanics in the battlesuit.

"Okay, while the lasers are being installed, what did you mean about flight?" I asked. "And how are we going to obtain data for that?"

_"Advise: Recall the vehicles back the original timeline."_

That sure brought back memories of the distant future; back there, there were flying cars, super-sophisticated aircraft and spacecraft. All of them were being powered by. . .

"Yeah . . . if I can recall, they were powered by some anti-gravity device," I answered.

_"Affirmative: Flight mechanics based on anti-gravity engine installed in aircraft and spacecraft."_

"I see," I nodded. "So, how am I going to equip the battlesuit?"

_"Response to the question: Currently, there are two ways to activate the EVOLVE battlesuit. The most common method is to press the green button on the remote control."_

I did as EVOLVE instructed and pressed the green button located at the center of the remote control. Suddenly, a bright green light enveloped me and the remote control, forcing me to close my eyes in response. When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was now wearing the EVOLVE battlesuit.

"Awesome, it feels as though I'm in a sentai series! It's so nostalgic!" I uttered as I examined myself. "Wait, why there aren't any laser cannons on the arms?"

_"Explanation: Laser Weaponry still being installed. Estimated time: One hour. Option: Laser weapons can still be used, but performance will be cut in half."_

"That figures," I sighed; nothing's ever easy for me. "EVOLVE, how can I activate the anti-gravity boosters?"

"Explanation: _Anti-gravity boosters located at the ankles. In Addition: subject can mentally activate and control the feature._"

Upon hearing the information, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my feet. All of a sudden, I'm beginning to feel as light as a feather. At that moment, I opened my eyes and saw I was floating a few feet in the air. As looked at my feet, I noticed that the green lines were glowing brighter in that area. However, my actions became my undoing as I suddenly fell down to the ground due to losing concentration.

"Ouch, my butt hurts," I rubbed my backside. "Darn it, mentally controlling the anti-gravs is a real pain to master."

_"Suggestion: let the system control flight temporarily. Note: Mental ability of subject Frank Shinka Kizuna a liability in battle unless properly trained and developed."_

"Well, I guess you're right," I replied as I pressed the green button on the remote, thus reverting back to my normal form. "I just wonder how Reimu is doing-"

"Oi Reimu, are you home?" A high-pitched voice called out.

I looked up and saw a blonde girl flying on her broom. Her attire consisted of a black and white colored witch outfit. Not to mention that she was carrying a metallic part with her. As she saw me sitting at the porch of the shrine, she floated down to the ground to meet me personally.

"Well, you're a new face around these parts, ze," The blond witch said to me. "I'm Marisa Kirisame, and you are?"

"My name is Frank Shinka Kizuna," I replied. "You're looking for Reimu, right?"

"That's right, ze," Marisa winked as she replied at me. "You're an outsider, right?"

"You got me," I replied. "So, Reimu isn't here at the moment, so why are you looking for her?"

"Uh, I found some sort of spider-like thing near my house in the Forest of Magic," Marisa explained as she showed the item she was carrying.

The moment Marisa showed me the item she was carrying; I recognized that item as a leg of a robot, specifically a CANY mech. At first glance, something was not right here . . .

"Uh, to be honest, that's a leg of a robot," I explained to her. "How did you encounter one?"

By her expressions, Marisa Kirisame has little knowledge on what a robot was, but at least she answered my question.

"Um, when I was about to go to Kourindou to see their wares when this thing jumped out of the blue and attacked me," Marisa explained. "Naturally, I managed to destroy it using my danmaku."

Hm, so it seemed that Marisa managed to destroy the CANY mech and dragged one of its legs here. I guess she was stronger than she looks.

"Uh Marisa, that a dangerous weapon you got there," I suggested. "Maybe you should leave it here for now. Once Reimu comes back, I'll let her know about this."

"Wow, you'll do that for me? Thanks, ze," Marisa smiled as she put the severed mechanical leg near the porch of the shrine. "You can come by my house if you want."

"Ahaha, thanks for your offer," I replied. "I'll surely consider it."

"Well, I'm off; I'm gonna come back for that leg tomorrow," Marisa rode on her broom and flew up. "See you later, ze!"

As Marisa flew back to her home, I wonder if fate would lead me to meet other denizens of this fantasy land.

"Marisa Kirisame," I muttered. "I'd bet we'll be meeting again sooner than you think."

Then, I turned my attention on the severed mechanical leg left near the porch. I already had my suspicions that it belonged to a CANY mech; now was the time to verify my theory.

"EVOLVE; can you scan this mechanical leg?" I asked. "I just want to confirm if it's a leg from a CANY mech."

I grabbed my remote and brought it near the severed leg. Immediately, the remote scanned the severed leg using its greenish light.

_"Affirmative: scanning mechanical leg for confirmation . . . Scanning complete: 100% confirmed severed leg to be a part of a CANY mech."_

"Well, butter my biscuits," I cursed. "CANY is in Gensokyo."

Suddenly, loud beeping noises came from the remote. I held the remote closely if the AI has found something.

_"Warning: Multiple robotic signatures detected; CANY energy signatures recognized."_

"EVOLVE; can you determine where the CANY mechs are headed?" I asked.

"_Trajectory confirmed: CANY mechs currently moving near a human settlement northwest of the Hakurei Shrine._ _Additional Info: Scans detect the biological signature of Reimu Hakurei near the same area._"

Double crap, not only CANY were in Gensokyo, but also they might attack Reimu as she was heading for the Human Village! While I was shocked at the revelation, EVOLVE's beeps snapped me back to reality.

_"Suggestion: Find Reimu Hakurei and check her condition. Probability of CANY forces attacking her: 75%."_

"Then, it is settled," I stood up. "We need to help her. EVOLVE; you can handle flight, right?"

_"Response to the question: Leave the flight mechanics to me for the time being."_

No more words were spoken as I suited up and flew off; I just hope we arrived in time to save Reimu from one gruesome fate.

* * *

As Reimu was headed for the Human Village, a male individual appeared from the forest canopy. He was covered in an orange bodysuit; his head was covered in a helmet.

So this is Gensokyo; so the words of the Chaos Queen hold true," The male stood on a treetop. "As a Chaos General, this pocket dimension is interesting alright."

The Chaos General looked at his surroundings and saw a shrine maiden flying in a distance.

"Well look at here; a floating human female; and by her attire I bet she's a shrine maiden based on her clothing," The Chaos General mused. "Looks like I've got my first target ripe for the picking."

Suddenly, the Chaos General was surrounded by a swarm of CANY Scouts; the mechs were waiting for their orders from the Chaos General.

"I hope for my sake this fight will be entertaining," The Chaos General smirked. "Scouts, attack her!"

Upon hearing the command from the Chaos General, the swarm of Scouts dove into the forest below, hiding themselves from the sight of the shrine maiden until the appropriate time.

* * *

Reimu Hakurei continued towards the Human Village after her conversation with Yukari Yakumo. However, her eyes caught sight of multiple fairies fleeing from something from the forest below.

"Why are the fairies fleeing from the forest?" Reimu wondered. "This isn't a good sign-"

Suddenly, a swarm of 100 Scouts emerged from the forest, descending into the air to confront the shrine maiden.

"Tch, this is inconvenient," Reimu glared at the mechs that surrounded her. "Get out of my way-"

Before she attempted to get away, one of the Scouts fired at her, forcing her to dodge the bullets aimed for her.

"So, you won't let me leave," Reimu summoned her gohei and ofuda in her hands. "Fine, I warned you."

Reimu began to fire her regular danmaku at the CANY mechs. In retaliation, the mechs began to fire their own danmaku at her, in which the shrine maiden dodged with ease. In total, Reimu managed to destroy around twenty-five of the Scouts using her regular danmaku before they began to dodge her attacks.

"Hm, they're starting to dodge my regular danmaku," Reimu muttered. "I guess it's time I use my spell cards."

She grabbed one of her spell cards and raised it in the air.

"Spirit Sign - Fantasy Orb!"

Several colored orbs began to appear around Reimu. The multi-colored orbs managed to hit many of the CANY Scouts, destroying around twenty-five more in the process. As she attempted to use the same spell card once more, one of the Scouts managed to shoot the spell card out of Reimu with pinpoint accuracy.

"Tch, they just blasted my spell card off my hands!" Reimu grimaced at her situation.

In her moment of weakness, a Scout approached to her and fired its cannons at point-blank range.

"Oh crap," Reimu cursed as she braced herself for the inevitable outcome-

Suddenly, three laser shots penetrated the husk of the CANY mech, causing it to fall down to the forest and explode soon after. More laser shots were fired at the remaining Scouts, forcing them to disperse.

"It can't be," Reimu muttered. "Is that . . .?"

* * *

Whew, I managed to destroy that Scout that was about to kill Reimu in point-blank range. As for the titular shrine maiden, she was surprised to see me saving her.

"Reimu!" I shouted while I fired at the remaining CANY mechs that were surrounding the shrine maiden. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, aside from my torn right sleeve, I'm fine," Reimu replied.

I couldn't believe that someone such as her would fight a swarm of these Scouts and still able to stand. I'm beginning to see the true badassery of the denizens of Gensokyo. Reimu and I floated back to back as the remaining Scouts regroup to renew their attacks.

"Say Reimu, you got a spell card that can blast these things to smithereens?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I have that spell card," Reimu answered as she held her remaining spell card in hand. "But this is my last spell card that I brought with me. Not to mention that it takes time to set up."

"No worries," I assured her. "If you need time to set up for that spell card, leave that to us."

"But," Reimu stammered. "I can't let you do this-"

"Reimu, consider this a favor for saving my life," I smiled. "I owe my life to you; this is my way of returning the favor."

I fired stray shots at the Scouts, in hopes of shifting their attention from Reimu to me. Apparently, it worked and the Scouts were ignoring the shrine maiden and focused their bullets at me.

The exchange of danmaku and lasers continued. I managed to destroy several more of the Scouts using manual aim, even with the power deduction from the lasers due to them being incomplete. But as the battle progresses, the Scouts were moving faster than my human eyes could comprehend.

"These mechs sure know how to dodge lasers," I said. "EVOLVE; can you determine if these mechs are controlled manually or not?"

_"Observation: the CANY mechs moving in coordinate patterns. From current Database: CANY Scouts feature a limited AI system, therefore Scouts cannot perform such actions independently. Conclusion: Someone is controlling them."_

"Well, that information is useful," I sarcastically replied. The mechs are dodging more laser shots than before. "Tch, these mechs are getting harder to hit. Can you help me lock on to these targets?"

_"Affirmative: Initiating lock-on system on the battlesuit."_

Suddenly, a green crosshair appeared on my visor. With the crosshair helping me target and EVOLVE handling the flight systems, I was able to destroy more of the blasted Scouts. But, this doesn't come with a price.

"Ack!" I gasped. I looked at my right hip and right shoulder and thus, I realized that two stray bullets ruptured the suit. "What's the damage estimate?"

"_Damage Estimation: 45%,"_ The AI replied. _"Statement: Subject Reimu Hakurei must finish her set-up quickly. Probability of Annihilation: 50%."_

Suddenly, the remaining Scouts decided to gang up on me in an attempt to finish me off. But before they could do so, a bright light shone behind me. I looked back and realized that Reimu managed to complete her set-up.

"And this one's for saving me," Reimu smiled as she held the charged spell card into the air. "Divine Spirit - Fantasy Seal!"

In an instant, several huge orbs of light began to encircle Reimu. Then, the orbs flew off in different directions to intercept the remaining Scouts. The huge orbs did their function; the remaining Scouts were utterly destroyed by that spell card, and thus the battle was over. Both Reimu and I were panting because we're exhausted at the end of this battle.

"I guess we're both even?" I suggested.

"Well, if you could call it that way," Reimu replied. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly, EVOLVE protected me from those bullets," I replied. "EVOLVE; so how much the suit is damaged?"

_"Total Damage Estimation: Approximately 50%,"_ The AI replied. _"In Addition: Damages on the battlesuit will be fully repaired on the next day."_

"That's good to know," I smiled, but I someone lifted my right arm. I looked back and saw Reimu put my right arm on her shoulder. "Uh Reimu, what are you-"

"We're heading back to the shrine," Reimu said as she held my arm in her shoulder.

"What about your trip to the Human Village?" I retorted.

"I'll do that next time," She replied nonchalantly as we flew back to the Hakurei shrine. "By the way, thanks for saving me back there, err-"

"It's Frank Shinka Kizuna," I said my name. "You can call me Frank if you want."

"Okay, thank you Frank," Reimu genuinely smiled at me as we flew back.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Chaos General observed the entirety of the battle. He was delighted that the shrine maiden was almost killed by his Scouts, but that expectation was thrown out of the window when the boy interfered.

"That blasted human, how dare he interfere in that battle?!" The Chaos General balled his fists in anger. "This won't go unnoticed! I, Fidel Jäger, will attest to that!"

With his words spoken, the Chaos General by the name of Fidel Jäger disappeared in a void of darkness.

* * *

At the same time, a certain crow tengu managed to capture the entirety of the battle on her camera. After the Hakurei shrine maiden and the mysterious outsider left the scene, the crow tengu looked at her taken pictures and examined them.

"Ayayaya, this has the potential of being a big scoop!" The crow tengu mused. "The battle was awesome alright, but the outsider is even more interesting!"

The crow tengu held a particular picture that depicted the outside on his silver armor. A smile formed on the crow tengu's face as she considered her options.

"Then, it's settled; I need to find that outsider!" The crow tengu pumped her right fist in determination. "I, Aya Shameimaru, will be determined to interview that particular outsider in any way possible!"

And thus, the crow tengu flew back to Youkai Mountain; she was determined to deliver the news of the battle to the denizens of Gensokyo through her newspaper.

**End of Chapter**

* * *

**To be continued in . . .**

**Touhou Strikers: The Silver Lining**

**Chapter 3: The Tengu, the Witch, and the Puppeteer**

**The next chapter is on its early stages.**

**So, please wait kindly until the next update . . .**


	3. The Tengu, the Witch, and the Puppeteer

**Greetings, fellow authors and readers! I am J the Observing Author and I welcome you readers to Touhou Strikers, an epic tale of science, magic, and a homage to many other shoot 'em ups that I could think of!**

**Indeed, this is going to be a rather lengthy series, as you can see. I try to make the format simple enough for readers to understand.**

**This chapter will focus on character introductions and we will have our first official boss battle for this series!**

**If you readers see a 'Music' line with odd text, they are links to various YouTube music pages. **

**To open the music links, load any YouTube video and replace the code that comes after the "/" text in the URL. For example, if you input the code "watch?v=3Hp4SN93HTs" in place of any YouTube link, it should direct you to a music video that I integrated into the story. **

**Remember, the music links are not really required to enjoy this story, but the links are for the readers want to enhance their reading experience. The choice is up to you readers.**

**And I personally thank The NHK Ambassador for his help on this chapter.**

**Of course, Touhou belongs to ZUN. I only own the Original Characters and the plot.**

* * *

Earlier, Reimu and I just fought a swarm comprising of one hundred CANY Scouts and managed to destroy them all. As we returned to the Hakurei shrine, Reimu noticed a particular object lying near the porch of the shrine.

"What is that?" Reimu pointed at the object that was lying in the porch of the shrine.

"Oh, it's a severed leg of those CANY robots," I answered. "A girl named Marisa Kirisame brought it here for you to see; I guess she'll be back for it tomorrow."

As walked closer to the door leading inside of the shrine, I saw an unfamiliar little girl lying in the porch. She had two long straight horns on her head, decorated with ribbons. She wears a tattered pale pink sleeveless blouse, a long purple and pink skirt, and three chain accessories tied to her belt. Reimu paid no attention to the dozing girl as she opened the door and headed inside, prompting me to ask her a particular question.

"Uh, who is she?" I asked.

"Oh, that Suika Ibuki," Reimu nonchalantly replied. "She's an oni that often hangs around my shrine."

"Ah, I remember that you mentioned her name earlier," I recalled, and then I asked Reimu. "Should we wake her up?"

"Nah, I think that we leave her be," Reimu replied. "Come, let's go inside."

As Reimu and I went inside, I could have sworn that the oni opened one eye and groggily looked at her surroundings.

"Whaaa. . . what's going on?" Suika opened her right eye. "I guess it was nothin'. I'm going back to sleep . . ."

* * *

**Touhou Strikers - The Silver Lining**

**Chapter 3: The Tengu, the Witch, and the Puppeteer **

* * *

As nightfall swept in, Reimu and I were eating dinner inside the shrine. As we eat the food on the kotatsu, I could tell that Reimu was looking at me. Nonetheless, it took some time for her to speak her questions to me.

"So, those things were the invaders from the future?" Reimu asked me. "What did you call them?"

I cleared up my throat with a glass of water before answering Reimu's question.

"Their name is CANY," I answered. "They're an alien race that attacked and devastated humanity in my time-line."

"So, they're invaders from another dimension," Reimu pointed out. "But, the real question is: why are they here in Gensokyo?"

"I'm not that sure," I stammered. "EVOLVE, what do you think?"

The remote control remained silent for a few moments before the AI could give a proper theory in response to my question.

_"Answer: Unclear. Hypothesis: Organization CANY formed in timeline of landmass Gensokyo. Probability: 47%."_

Moments after EVOLVE said his opinion, Reimu got up, put her empty bowl on the kotatsu, and spoke to me.

"Well then, I guess discussing something we don't know much won't get us anywhere," Reimu said. "After you're done eating, you'll be the one who's washing the dishes tonight."

"Err, can I ask why?" My right eye twitched upon hearing Reimu's words.

"You're still in my shrine, so my rules apply," Reimu simply replied. "I expect the dishes and cups to be thoroughly washed when I come to inspect you later."

As the shrine maiden left the dining room, I just blinked at the words that she said to me.

_"Second Assessment of human shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei: Lazy and reliant on others, but powerful. Recommended Action: Resist command," __EVOLVE added._

"Yeah, I agree," I replied. "But still, Reimu was the one who saved our hides when we arrived here; who knows if we didn't do this, she'll probably kick us outside where we'll be eaten by some random youkai."

_"Statement of human Frank Shinka Kizuna: Logical. Opinion: Agreeable," EVOLVE agreed._

After I consumed my food, I stood up and picked up the dishes and cups from the kotatsu and proceeded to the kitchen.

* * *

Cleaning up the dishes wasn't as hard as I thought it will be. It helped that Reimu and I were the only ones who ate dinner tonight. But, I could tell by the tone of her voice that parties were occasionally held at this very shrine.

"Hah, the dishes are done," I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

As I passed by the living room, I noticed a shelf full of books and newspapers. My curiosity peaked and I browsed through its contents. It turns out that the newspapers were titled "Bunbunmaru Newspaper", but my attention was shifted on two particular books.

"Hm, what are these books?" I wondered. "Let's see . . . they're called _Perfect Memento in Strict Sense_ and _Symposium of Post-mysticism_."

I grabbed the two books and went my bedroom. With the source of light coming from the remote, I began to read the two books, starting with the Perfect Memento.

"I can't believe that she had these books with her all along," I exclaimed as I read Perfect Memento. "EVOLVE, are you gathering data from these books?"

_"Response: Affirmative. Current Completion: 9%. Assessment: Useful. Recommended Action: Apply knowledge in landmass Gensokyo." _

My reading was briefly interrupted when Reimu came into the guest room. Her eyes were looking at me reading the two books while I was sitting down.

"What are you two talking about?" Reimu asked. "I see that you've started to read those two books. You're more resourceful than I thought."

"Reimu, I came from a time when humanity is struggling to fight against a nigh-powerful alien force," I replied. "It's important that I learn what the land holds so I don't do something really stupid."

"That's good to know," Reimu asked me once again. "I assume you're done washing the dishes?"

"Yup, they're squeaky clean and arranged in a neatly fashion," I replied as I flipped pages of the Perfect Memento.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning," Reimu closes the door. "Just don't stay up too long to read those two books."

As she closed the door, I resumed reading the remaining pages of Perfect Memento before proceeding to read Symposium. As time passed by, I became drowsy and the desire to sleep began to take hold.

"Wow, the data contained in these two books are amazing," I muttered. "What do you think; EVOLVE?"

_"Usefulness: Very High. Warning: Information may be inconclusive to known data." _

"Inconclusive?" I repeated. "Please explain it to me."

It took moments before the AI could come up with a plausible answer. The green lights on my remote began to blink as EVOLVE explained his answer.

_"Explanation: Records not always reliable resource," EVOLVE explained. "Suggestion: Find and speak to the author named Hieda no Akyuu."_

Around a span of several more minutes in reading Symposium, the remote began to blink again.

_"Vital Information: Possibility for new feature in the EVOLVE system available."_

"Go ahead," I encouraged. "I'm listening."

"Explanation: new feature is based on the movements of CANY Scouts."

"Yes, it didn't help that their controller was adept in controlling them," I replied. "What are you suggesting?"

_"Expansion of previous statement: Automated drones recommended in combat. Objectives: Increase firepower by minimal of 25%; EVOLVE-operated drones capable of both offensive and defensive tactics. Note: Requires confirmation of current user, humanoid Frank Shinka Kizuna. Initiate?" _

After EVOLVE revealed this information, several thoughts came to my head. A bunch of attack drones were indeed useful and could cover areas where my natural senses couldn't. In the end, there was one obvious answer to this crucial development.

"Yeah, please start researching on that," I replied. "And I shall name them EVO-Dynamos."

_"Affirmative: Commencing the development of the EVO-Dynamos. Conclusion: Development will be done approximately tomorrow afternoon."_

"Yeah, tell me if there are any more developments," I yawned. "But for now, I need to rest. Good night."

As EVOLVE started to research on the new feature, I lie down on the futon and I fell asleep. . .

* * *

As morning dawns, I was greeted by the bright rays of the sun. I stretched out my arms and grabbed the remote to monitor the progress of the EVO-Dynamo research.

"EVOLVE, how is the research going?" I asked the AI.

_"Development of EVO-Dynamos: Approximately 45%," The AI responded. "Additional information: Weapons system of the EVO-Dynamos based on the laser cannons on the battlesuit."_

Hm, the EVO-Dynamos also had laser weapons; I really appreciate the extra firepower. Then, I proceeded to take a bath, changed to my attire, soon after the door opened and I was greeted by the shrine maiden.

"Good morning Reimu," I greeted the shrine maiden. "I didn't expect you to be up so early."

"As are you," Reimu retorted. "Let's eat breakfast."

As we went to the dining room, I put my right hand on my mouth as I yawned. After that, Reimu looked back at me and I could tell by her expressions, she was going to ask a question of me. I just smiled and took the initiative of asking her first.

"Reimu, what is it?" I asked.

"I was going to ask you if you have slept well, but I'm glad you woke up early," Reimu said to me. "I hope that you didn't spend the entire night reading those two books."

I let out a light chuckle as I listened to Reimu's explanation.

"To be honest, I did read the entirety of those two books in just 2 hours, so I still feel drowsy," I replied. "EVOLVE did help archive the data I read."

"Maybe you shouldn't overexert that much for reading two manuals," Reimu said to me. "Well then, if there's nothing more to be said, let's have our breakfast."

* * *

Breakfast was lively as usual. Two sets of fried fish were on the kotatsu, complete with two bowls of rice. My stomach was grumbling, in which Reimu giggled at my embarrassment. As we sat on the kotatsu, I grabbed the metal sphere in my pocket, and put in on the kotatsu to prevent any potential spillage should any accident happen.

As we ate our breakfast, it seemed that Reimu was staring at the metal sphere that I put on the kotatsu.

"Frank, what is that metal sphere?" Reimu asked.

"Oh? I don't really know," I shrugged as I gave the sphere to Reimu. "Before I time-travelled here, my sister's husband gave this to me. I don't really know what its purpose is, but it wouldn't hurt to find out."

As I continued to eat my food, Reimu began to examine the metal sphere. She traced her delicate fingers around the lines of the sphere, tracing them to its source. It wasn't that long when she noticed a small green button on the center of the sphere. Out of curiosity, she pressed the button, and we were treated to an unusual sight.

Segments of the sphere began to transform, and the object in question began to transform into a shape that resembled a lotus flower. Then, a holographic image of a very familiar person appeared from the lens of the metal sphere.

"Uh, hello?" The holographic image of Proton Brown called to me. "Frank, is that you?"

"Doc Brown!" I exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Yeah, we managed to fend off all the CANY mechs," Proton explained. "Granted, the lab is mostly in shambles, but we survived."

"But, how did you managed to communicate with me?" I asked. "Communications between two different timeline is thought to be impossible."

"Yeah, I also thought of the same assumption," Proton scratched his chin. "Lumina managed to scrap the remains of the time machine and integrated it into the communicator. I know it sounds crazy, but it worked. Granted I don't know exactly how, but I'm glad that you're still alive."

"Uh, I know it's rude, but who are you?" Reimu interrupted. "It seems you know Frank more than I do."

"Ah, I apologize for my impoliteness," Proton replied to her. "I'm Proton Brown or Doc Brown as Frank calls me. I'm one of the protégé of Yumemi Okazaki. And by your clothing, you must be a shrine maiden, yes?"

"Hm, you're really that observant," Reimu remarked. "I am Reimu Hakurei, the Shrine Maiden of Paradise. And I'm familiar with Yumemi Okazaki in the fact that I've fought and defeated her."

"Really?" Proton was so surprised that he pumped his right fist and squeed. "I knew it! Frank, you're in Gensokyo, right?"

"Yep, the one and only fantasy land," I coolly replied. "And where's my sister?"

"Oh, she's asleep at the moment; Lumina's the one who's fixing this communication device," Proton explained. "Among us, she worked the hardest just to communicate with you. Honestly, I never would have contacted you if it wasn't for her."

She . . . really worked hard just to find me here. I wished I could help them; perhaps someone in Gensokyo could help them out. Granted, she would probably scold me for wandering off in unknown territory, but as my older sister she's just concerned for my safety.

"I don't know how we were able to communicate, despite you being stuck in a different time period," Proton continued. "Anyway, back to the main topic: This metal sphere is a schematic containing the core for a command center."

"What's a schematic?" Reimu asked.

"A schematic is a blueprint of a structure or a building," Proton answered "In this case, a core schematic is a device that holds data for the structure it was programmed to build. Once placed on the appropriate ground, the core will unfold into the structure it was programmed to build."

"Doc, there's just one problem," I pointed out. "How am I going to find an area big enough to deploy the core?"

"If you have no idea where to place the core, don't worry," Proton answered. "EVOLVE will help you find the suitable place to deploy the core. I'll explain further once the command center is up and running. Until then, take care! Oh, Lumina will be delighted that her hard work paid off!"

As the hologram ended, Reimu and I momentarily forgot about our food and stared at the metal sphere.

"That's one of the most bizarre mornings I had," I said. "I never thought Doc Brown would go to lengths just for this . . ."

"Not for me, I had experienced even stranger things than this," Reimu disagreed as she returned the sphere to me. "Let's just eat before the food gets cold."

* * *

After we consumed our breakfast, Reimu and I stood on the porch outside. As the morning sun illuminated our bodies, Reimu approached me with a stern look in her face.

"So, what are you planning to do for the rest of the day?" Reimu asked me.

"Well, I need to find a suitable place to deploy this thing," I answered while holding the spherical core in my right hand. But then, something in the sky caught my attention. "Who is that?"

A silhouette of a winged humanoid was flying towards the shrine in such speed that I could barely comprehend. While I still had no idea on whom this person was; Reimu was frowning as if she knew this person.

"Ayayaya! There you are!"

The person landed on the ground; I covered my eyes due to the dust that began to spread upon the flap of the person's wings. When I opened my eyes, I realized that the newcomer was a black-haired girl. The girl had a medium length black hair, striking red eyes as well as two pointed ears. She's wearing a white blouse, a short black skirt as well as a red tokin hat on top of her head. She's also wearing a pair of red geta shoes as her footwear. A pair of short black crow wings was visible on her back. The girl was holding a device which Frank identified as an old-school camera.

"What in the world?" I blurted out. Then, I noticed Reimu was frowning at the entry of the new girl. "Reimu, what's wrong?"

"Don't mind her entrance," Reimu muttered to me. "She is a crow tengu reporter, although she can get annoying at times."

The crow tengu noticed our conversation, and she approached us with a gleaming determination that was present in her crimson eyes.

"So, you're the outsider that fought alongside Reimu yesterday," The crow tengu assumed as she looked at me. "Ha, my suspicions have been confirmed! I'm Aya Shameimaru, the Traditional Reporter of Fantasy, at your service!"

I just blinked at her introduction while Reimu wasn't impressed by it at all. Aya Shameimaru . . . that name was familiar, if I remembered reading her profile in Perfect Memento and she was the author of the Bunbunmaru newspaper.

"You know, there is a time and place for everything," Reimu said to Aya. "And this isn't certainly the time to entertain your interviews."

"Oh really? I disagree," Aya grinned. "There were rumors floating around yesterday, about a new outsider that arrived in Gensokyo and all, and I decided that I should see if it's true . . . and I managed to record the entire battle on camera!"

She showed a couple of pictures that depicted Reimu and I battle the CANY mechs yesterday. Wait a second; she was there when we battled the CANY mechs yesterday? Either she had really good eyesight or she was good in concealing herself. Considering she is a crow tengu, I'm betting on the former.

"Ayayaya, this is a big scoop!" Aya continued. "But, it's isn't enough; this will be a much bigger scoop if I interview that young man there!"

Aya pointed her finger at me when she said those words. So, was I her target all this time? I could refuse, but since Reimu implied that she's persistent like any other reporters, it might be wise for me to entertain her interviews to get over with it.

"Yeah, I get it," I sighed. "We'll conduct the interview shortly. Reimu, we'll be outside the shrine, okay?"

"Just don't take too long," Reimu replied. "And don't disclose everything to her."

"Will do, Reimu," I nodded.

As Reimu sat on the porch on the shrine, sipping her tea, I let out a sigh before walking outside to face the tengu reporter.

"So, where shall we conduct the interview?" I asked.

"Oh, I can conduct interviews anywhere!" Aya cheerfully replied as she took out her pen and notebook. "We can start the interview here if you want. So, can please tell me your name?"

"My name?" I iterated. "My name is Frank Shinka Kizuna."

"How did you get in Gensokyo?" Aya asked me her second question.

"It's quite complicated," I replied. "Let's just say I'm in a wrong place at the right time."

"I see," Aya continued. "Did you get here by someone in the name of Yukari Yakumo? Did you go through a portal with multiple blinking eyes staring at you?"

Hm, Yukari Yakumo? I've read her profile in the book last night. Neither was the portal with multiple blinking eyes; as much as I could recall, I didn't go to that portal, rather, I used a time machine to get to Gensokyo.

"Yukari Yakumo? I kinda read her profile in a book," I answered. "Actually, I can't exactly explain how I got here. But, I'm sure I didn't go through a portal with multiple blinking, staring eyes."

"Ooh, I guess it's fair enough, but it adds to the mystery!" Aya wrote it down in her notes. "Earlier, I saw you wearing radically different attire when you battled alongside Reimu, firing danmaku at the enemy. Can you please explain?"

"The attire you saw me wear yesterday was a suit of armor," I answered. "That armor allows me to fire laser danmaku."

Aya was busy writing all of my answers to her notepad. By the gleam of her crimson eyes, she was intrigued by my description of the EVOLVE battlesuit, as if she knew that I was hiding something from her.

"Okay, I have one last question," Aya stopped writing and faced me. "What do you think of the people here in Gensokyo?"

"Oh, that's the last question?" I replied. "Honestly, I think the people of Gensokyo are nice people, but when danger comes, they can stand on their own feet."

"That's an interesting opinion you got there," Aya commented. "You seem to hold us in high regard."

"Trust me, after I saw Reimu's prowess in battle, I learned that I should tread carefully in this fantasy land," I remarked.

Aya managed to finish writing on her notepad. Then, she returned her pen and notepad to her pockets and addressed me.

"Well then! Thank you very much for that interview; please look forward to my next paper!" Aya winked before spreading her wings. "I'll be around to monitor events in Gensokyo. See ya!"

With the interview done and over with, Aya Shameimaru flew off as fast as she arrived. I knew that she would probably interview me later on, considering her status. A few seconds after the crow tengu flew off from the Hakurei shrine; I sighed in relief and went back to the porch where Reimu was waiting for me with a cup of tea in her hands.

"Man, I'm glad the interview's over," I sighed as I returned to Reimu.

"So, how did it go?" Reimu asked me.

"Well, the interview mostly turned out to be quite typical," I answered. "She asked facts about me, where I came from, what the EVOLVE system is, and how I participate in the battle earlier; in short, nothing too explicit."

The remote began to blink in green light as EVOLVE spoke his insights on the interview.

_"Statement: Tengu Aya Shameimaru attempted to deepen the conversation, compromising secrecy," The AI added. "Remark: Subject Frank Shinka Kizuna managed to avoid the event."_

"Fortunately, my master managed to answer that question."

"That's Aya for you, always getting the hottest scoop in Gensokyo," Reimu shrugged. Then, she asked. "So, you're going out to find a place for that metal thing, right?"

"Other than that, I did promise Marisa to accompany her in her house in the Forest of Magic," I replied. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

"I'm right here, ze!"

As if on cue, the "Ordinary Witch" Marisa Kirisame arrived on the Hakurei shrine, riding on her broom.

"Well, it seems you timed your appearance quite well," Reimu remarked as she picked up the severed mechanical leg. "You came for this severed leg, right?"

"You got it, ze," Marisa smirked as she flew to retrieve the mechanical leg and held on to it. Then, she nudged me and said. "What're you waiting for? Let's go to my place!"

"Wait, this was unexpected!" I exclaimed. "How am I going to hang on your broom?"

"Nonesense!" Marisa replied. "I'm a perfectly safe flyer! Leave this to me!"

As I was whisked away by the blonde witch in her broom, Reimu just stood at her porch, sipping her tea as she watched the spectacle.

"Well, that's one less person to feed with," Reimu muttered as she sipped her tea. "I suppose if they need my help, I'll be here."

* * *

On a distance, Fidel Jäger stood at the forest canopy once again. As he looked left and right; he sighed in annoyance as he was still sour regarding his failure yesterday.

"Ah, Gensokyo," Fidel mused. "Whenever I see this fantasy world untouched by war, a world full of magic and divine, a world full of co-existing humans and youkai, I really just wanna destroy the crap out of it!" *1)

As he put on his binoculars, he observed the Frank and Marisa as they flew to the Forest of Magic. A creepy grin formed in his face as the two entered the forest.

"There he is, the bastard who got away from my sights last time," Fidel muttered as he observed Frank and Marisa entering the Forest of Magic.

"With this battleship, I could toy with the denizens of Gensokyo before killing them," Fidel mused. "The Chaos Queen will be so proud."

He held a Battleship core in his right hand. He threw it into the air, causing the core to transform into a form which Fidel smirked in arrogance.

"Soon, the fun shall begin. . . "

* * *

"Whoa, you're going too fast!" I exclaimed. "Slow down!"

Yet, no matter I shout to her, Marisa seemed to ignore it as we flew faster in her broom. As we flew deeper into the forest, everything was just a blur in my eyes as Marisa flew that fast, dodging the trees and vegetation on her path. And then, she suddenly screeched to a halt, flinging me to the ground.

"Wah!" I yelped as my body landed on the ground. I was not prepared for this at all! In an instant, EVOLVE forced me into the battlesuit; the anti-gravity boosters helped slow the impact so that I could land on my own two feet.

"Thanks EVOLVE," I sighed. "That was unexpected, but I could've been injured if you didn't do that."

_"Compliment: Not needed. Protection of subject Frank Shinka Kizuna: Top priority."_

On the other hand, Marisa was awestruck at what she saw. She flew to me, her eyes sparking with curiosity.

"Wow that was cool!" Marisa said in awe. "What kind of armor is that? And did it just talk?"

"Are you talking about the transformation?" I iterated. "Let's just say it's a body armor that I can equip immediately."

Marisa examined the battlesuit closely; her attention was focused on the remote that was embedded on the centrepiece.

"And yes, you heard it talk, his name is EVOLVE," I added, and then I changed the subject. "So, is this your house?"

Suddenly, Marisa stepped back as my questions somewhat snapped her back to reality.

"Haha, we're here in my humble abode alright!" Marisa exclaimed while pointing her finger. "And once we get inside, I wanna know how that armor of yours works!"

I looked at the house where Marisa pointed that we nearly crashed into. Her house resembled much from what I remembered in the old archives. Sure, there were many vines creeping into the windows, but still, it was a decent house.

"Wow, this place isn't too bad," I muttered. "It looks a little worn down, but it's still a nice house to look at."

"Don't just stand there gawking at my house," Marisa called at me. "Come inside!"

For the rest of this trip, I chose to remain equipped with the battlesuit for the rest of the day in case of any unexpected outcomes that could happen in this fantasy land.

* * *

As I entered the residence of the blonde witch, I saw her putting the severed mechanical leg on a big pile of miscellaneous items. Then, she turned and faced me with a curious look.

"So, you're in possession of armor that you can don on instantly?" Marisa asked. "Is it powered by magic?"

Magic? Doc Brown and Lumina mentioned once that his mentor often told that magic exists in the universe. But, coming here in Gensokyo might let me experience magic first-hand.

"Marisa, I can perfectly explain that this armor is not being powered by magic," I answered. "It's a complicated outside world terminology, I hope you understand."

"It's such a shame really, if it's being powered by magic," Marisa pouted. "I swear if it is powered by magic, I could steal, err I mean borrow that from you."

Wait a second; did she just outright admit that she was going to steal the battlesuit? Just as I was about to ask something from her, I could hear a whizzing sound coming from the kitchen in the next room.

"Oh, the soup's almost done!" Marisa gasped. "I'll be right back, ze!"

As she went to the kitchen, my attention was focused by the sheer quantity of items she had amassed into one huge pile.

"Okay, her house is decent on the outside but look at the items she hoarded," I muttered. "EVOLVE, why do you think she hoarded these items for?"

_"Answer: Not clear. Theory: Subject Marisa Kirisame hoarding items for unknown reasons."_

"The soup's ready!" Marisa's voice echoed in the entire house. She returned from the kitchen, carrying a small bowl full of thick soup and a small spoon. "Here's a bowl for ya!"

"Marisa, what in the world is that food you're cooking?" I asked. I sniffed the bowl and remarked. "It smells a bit weird."

"Try it out!" Marisa urged. "I cooked this with tender lovin' care!"

Without bothering to ask further, she gave the bowl to me and I reluctantly took a sip using the spoon.

"Wow, this soup is good," I mumbled between sips. "What exactly is this soup?"

"It's magic mushroom soup, ze!" Marisa cheerfully replied.

"What did you say- bleecarrggh!" My stomach suddenly ached like crazy. "Tch, I-I need to excuse myself!"

I ran towards the door leading to the outside, leaving the blond witch confused from my sudden retreat.

"What's wrong with my soup?" Marisa wondered and scratched her head. "This didn't taste that bad when I tried it. . ."

* * *

I managed to enter the door back to the outside. Then, I tripped on the ground and I fell on my face. The pain of the impact along the stomach pains made my situation a lot more awkward.

"That was close, I almost threw up; that soup tastes worse than the cafeteria food back in the future," I sighed in relief. "EVOLVE; did you analyze the chemicals of the mushrooms in the soup?"

_"Analysis Complete: Mushroom soup contains vitamins, several essential trace elements, anti-carcinogenic chemicals, and several psychoactive, hallucinogenic compounds. Further Analysis: Said hallucinogenic compounds may contain properties that are in the context of 'magical'. Exposure: Minimal, yet body reactions are adverse."_

Hm, so I got exposed to such chemicals upon consuming that soup? That's an interesting development alright; from what I've read on the books concerning Marisa, perhaps I could develop limited magical abilities someday. But for now, I stood up on my two feet and clutched my stomach.

"Please keep note of this," I suggested. "This info might prove to be useful in the future."

_"Affirmative: Developing nanites to counteract the compounds in the body. Alert: Another person enters the vicinity."_

I stood up, looked at my left side, and noticed that a new girl was observing me the moment I stepped outside. She had dark blue eyes and short blonde hair with a red hairband. She wears a light blue dress with long white sleeves and a long pink ribbon going round her neck and another one round her waist and she was carrying a strange book with her. Also, a small doll was accompanying her; the doll was hovering to me out of curiosity.

"Hm, based on your attire, you're not from here," The girl said to me. "It's been a while since I saw an outsider, let alone a human."

"My, your eyes are sharp," I complimented. "I'm Frank Shinka Kizuna and you are?"

"I am Alice Margatroid, the Seven-Colored Puppeteer," The blond girl introduced herself.

_"Greetings: And I am EVOLVE, Frank Shinka Kizuna's artificial intelligence companion and defender; it is a pleasurable meeting with the subject Alice Margatroid."_

"Ah, artificial intelligence is an outside world term, isn't it?" Alice replied. "Anyway, it's also nice to speak with you."

I looked at Alice carefully; her looks and attire somewhat resembled the original Alice in Wonderland from the book that I've read as a child. Speaking of books . . .

"Wait a minute, I've read your profile from a particular book last night," I recalled. "And if I'm correct, the book's title is _Perfect Memento in Strict Sense_."

"So you've read that book? That's remarkable," Alice replied. "Anyway, may I ask as to why you're standing outside of that particular house?"

"Ah, Marisa invited me in and I tried her mushroom soup," I explained. "However, my body had an adverse reaction to the soup and I excused myself."

Alice's expression remained unchanged as her doll went back to her side. I would bet that she was slightly suspicious of my presence, justified that I was an outsider.

"I see; I would suggest to refuse any food that the witch offers you," Alice warned. "I can tell that by your reactions that the consumption of the mushrooms in this forest would bring more harm to you than good."

Suddenly, the door behind me opened, and I turned around to see the blonde witch staring both at me and Alice.

"Hey Alice," Marisa went outside to see the commotion. "Why are you talking with the outsider? I invited him here."

"Yes, I noticed," Alice bluntly replied. "But, you caused discomfort in his stomach through your cooking."

"What? Is that true, ze?" Marisa exclaimed while she stared at me. "That explains why you ran back here. Is my cooking that bad?"

"Look, it's not your cooking that's bad," I answered. "It's the mushrooms you added in the soup."

"But, I eat these mushrooms every day!" Marisa snapped and to prove herself, she grabbed a mushroom from her pocket and ate it in front of me. "See? I just ate one and nothing bad is happening to me."

"Marisa, you're neglecting the fact that Frank's physiology is quite different from yours," Alice pointed out.

Upon hearing Alice's remark, Marisa's face looked as though she had missed an important insight on this particular situation.

"Ahaha, I totally forgot about that," Marisa put her right hand on her head sheepishly. "How come you didn't tell me that earlier?"

"To be fair, I didn't know what's in the soup when I tasted it," I defensively replied. "Anyway, why not we settle this down like-"

_"Warning: Multiple CANY signatures inbound," The AI interrupted. "Proceed with caution."_

Darn it, EVOLVE had to warn of incoming enemies at the wrong time. When will the time come where I don't get attacked by CANY forces for at least a day? Then, several bullets rained down from above, forcing us to dodge them.

"Hey Frank, what's going on?" Marisa asked. "Why are we getting attacked? And what does he mean when he said 'CANY'?"

I guess there's no point in keeping both of them in the shadows.

"Long story short, CANY are dangerous foes that attack with lethal danmaku," I quickly replied and pointed at the sky. "They attacked me and Reimu yesterday. And it seems they're above us!"

Sure enough, there were many CANY Scouts floating on the forest canopy. Since there were too many of them to fight at once, there was one solution that I could think of.

"As much as I don't like this, I'm gonna need your help," I asked. And then, I clasped my two hands and begged. "Will you two please help me?"

Marisa and Alice exchanged glances for a moment as they heard my pleas. Then, Marisa smirked while Alice put her right hand in her face.

"Well, he did say the magic word," Marisa shrugged. "Besides, I'm itching for a good danmaku fight!"

"If it needs to be done, fine," Alice sighed before she summoned her dolls. "If those beings are really hostile, I guess it will be appropriate to destroy them."

Marisa, Alice and I flew up and began to fire our regular danmaku at the CANY Scouts. Soon afterwards, the Scouts began to fire their own danmaku at her, in which we dodged with ease.

"Man, is it me or these Scouts are getting easier to hit?" I grunted as we continued to exchange fire. "EVOLVE, how's the EVO-Dynamos?"

"Development of the EVO-Dynamos: 85% complete," The AI explained. "In Addition: Research can be hastened by observing and destroying CANY Scouts."

"I know how to destroy them all at once!" Marisa complained as she raised her mini-hakkero at the mechs. "Magic Sign - Stardust Reverie!"

Upon her invocation of her spell card, the mini-hakkero began to spew out multiple star-shaped bullets that managed to destroy many of the Scouts.

"Marisa, you're style of using danmaku is still unrefined," Alice sighed as she was surrounded by the remaining CANY Scouts. "I'll show you how a refined danmaku is executed. Lance Sign - Cutie Phalanx."

Suddenly, Alice was surrounded by dolls, armed with lances. Then, the dolls flew in different directions, impaling the remaining CANY Scouts with surprising accuracy. As the area was devoid of any more CANY Scouts, Marisa was not all too pleased with the results of the battle.

"That's it?" Marisa bragged. "And I thought shooting fairies was easy."

"I agree," I added. "Last time, they were able to dodge danmaku so easily."

"Hm, do you think that the enemy is using them to wear us down?" Alice wondered.

"Warning: Large humanoid construct fast approaching," EVOLVE warned. "Be on your guard."

"Humanoid?" Alice wondered. "Is it similar to the Hisoutensoku?"

"Hisoutensoku?" I grimaced. "I don't know anything about Hisoutensoku, yet this can only mean one thing."

There was a brief earthquake, which rattled the ground beneath us. Then, the trees began to rustle violently as something big was coming.

"W-what is that?" Marisa pointed out on the flying machine that was flying above us.

Alice and I looked at the direction where Marisa is pointing, and we were as dumbstruck as she was. A tall humanoid statue rose from the forest canopy. It had a large, rounded face, small arms and hands and a compact body. Its oval-shaped eyes were glaring at us as if we were its designated targets. One thing was clear for me; that humanoid monstrosity bore the sigil of CANY.

"Crap, what kind of CANY mech is that?" I uttered. "EVOLVE, can you identify it?"

_"Analysis Complete: Mech type unknown. Confirmation: Mech is indeed a CANY battleship. Additional Information: Battleship seems to be based on Shakōki-dogū figurines of the late Jōmon period of prehistoric Japan."_ *2)

Suddenly, we heard the sound of falling trees and realized that the battleship was heading our way! I grimaced as a battle with this battleship was inevitable. However, if we decided to fight it here, Marisa and Alice's houses will be inevitably damaged or destroyed. I supposed we need to find an open ground first . . .

"It looks like it's on to us!" I uttered in shock. "Follow me! We need to lure it away from this area!"

"Hey, wait for us!" Marisa exclaimed as she and Alice followed me.

* * *

[Music - watch?v=x272byrlfDg "Castle of Shikigami III - An Obstacle"]

Across the forest, we flew away from the massive statue, determined to lure it away as far as possible. Fairies and other youkai were fleeing in different directions as the giant statue continued its pursuit on us. Marisa and Alice finally caught up with me as we flew at the outskirts of the forest.

"Hey, why did you make us run away, ze?" Marisa called at me.

"Marisa, do you want that thing to utterly wreck your house?" I retorted. "If we didn't get away, both of your houses will be destroyed by the sheer size of that thing!"

Marisa was utterly surprised by my answer; in contrast, Alice's expressions conveyed that she understood what I was trying to say at them.

"I understand, by luring the statue away, the property damage will be reduced," Alice muttered. "It's a clever decision on your part."

As we flew out of the forest and into the wide, open field, we turned back and saw the battleship was still pursuing us. Granted, it was massive, but it was pursuing us in the same speed as we were flying.

"So, how long we're gonna be chased by that thing?" Marisa asked. "We can't run away from it forever."

She was right about that. The real reason I decided to flee was to lure the battleship into an area where we could stand a decent chance against it. And since we were in an open field, this was our chance to confront it.

"Right about . . . now!" I turned around and faced the statue; Marisa and Alice did the same. "Everyone, attack it now!"

"I thought you never ask," Marisa grinned as she grabbed her mini-hakkero.

"Granted, this will more troublesome if we let this statue go on rampaging," Alice muttered as she summoned her dolls to battle.

And thus, we started to attack the behemoth with all we've got. At first, we fired our regular danmaku at it, only to find out that the mech was quite resistant to regular shots. In retaliation, the CANY battleship began to fire danmaku from its arms, chest and legs, in which we barely dodged most of them. Suddenly, the head of the battleship began to glow white it fired laser beams out of its eyes, forcing us to dodge it along with its danmaku.

"Gah, now that thing's firing beams from its eyes?" Marisa grunted as she barely evaded the laser-based attack. "This is getting ridiculous!"

"We need to take it out quickly!" I exclaimed. "Use your spell cards!"

Alice and Marisa nodded and confronted the towering behemoth, armed with their iconic armaments.

"Let's see if it can handle this," Alice grabbed a spell card from her grimoire and declared. "Curse Sign - Hourai Doll!"

Upon her spell incantation, multiple dolls materialized beside her and each fired laser beams at the battleship. Granted, the massive CANY mech took damage, but it was still standing.

"Oi, don't hog all the fun, ze!" Marisa aimed her mini-hakkero at the statue. "Star Sign - Meteoric Shower!"

From her mini-hakkero, huge, multiple star-shaped bullets spewed out in a single direction, hitting the battleship in a big explosion. As a cloud of dust obscured the view, the blond witch blew the whizzing smoke away from her mini-hakkero.

"We did it!" Marisa exclaimed. "Eh, guys?"

[Music End]

I glared at the dust cloud in front of us. That battle was too easy, and from what Doc told me, a battle that seemed too easy will turn out to be much harder.

"Something's not right," I muttered. "Usually, CANY battleships this large aren't that fragile, unless-"

When the dust cleared up, we could see the battleship broke into several parts: The arms and legs detached from the body, and it replaced its destroyed weapons with brand new ones. With its independently moving limbs, the CANY battleship looked even more formidable than ever.

[Music - watch?v=zcaJxnocad8 "Breath of Fire III - Escape"]

"Tch, I knew it!" I exclaimed. "We've just destroyed its first form!"

Soon afterwards, the mech began its counterassault. Marisa and Alice resumed their attack against the behemoth, but the mech's armor just resisted their danmaku attacks. In retaliation, the battleship deployed attack drones and used them to attack us.

"First, eye beams, now attack drones?" I exclaimed. "I do not like this at all!"

Thankfully, we managed to evade the drones' attacks and destroy them with our danmaku; however, the sheer toughness of the CANY battleship forced Marisa and Alice to use their spell cards once more.

"This is becoming out of hand," Alice grimaced. "War Sign - Little Legion!"

In an instant, multiple dolls descended upon the battleship with their lances ready to strike. However, the battleship's independent limbs managed to swing like baseball bats and swatted the dolls away.

"That attack didn't work at all!" Marisa grunted. "I'll finish this off! Love Sign–"

Just before Marisa finished her incantation, the mech began to shine in a brilliant white color. Marisa, Alice, and I were forced to shield our eyes at that moment; as I opened my eyes, I managed to see the battleship swatted them out of the way with its independent arms.

"Marisa! Alice!" I shouted.

When the mechanical abomination was done toying with Marisa and Alice, it shifted its focused on me. The mech lunged and tried to knock me down with its detached arms, while its drones generated red-hot spheres of danmaku that threatened to overwhelm me. So far, I managed to dodge the arms and its associative danmaku from its drones, but I knew that I couldn't keep this up for long.

"Gyah!" I screamed as one of the bullets emitted from the drones knocked me down to the ground.

The attack knocked me off the air and thus I landed painfully at the ground below, creating a mini-crater at the crash site. As I lay helpless on the ground, I could hear an unfamiliar voice taunting me at the moment of my weakness.

"Mwahahahaha! How it does it feel to be helpless in the face of death?" A voice boomed from the CANY mech.

I struggled to open my eyes to see the seemingly victorious battleship aiming its weaponry on me. The body of the mech began to project a hologram, and it showed a pilot of the machine, wearing a helmet to feign identity.

"You're the one piloting that mech?" I spoke back. "Who are you?"

"Oh? Since you're gonna die in my hands, I'll tell you who I am," The pilot bragged. "I'm Fidel Jäger, the Chaotic Loyal Hunter and one of the seven Chaos Generals of CANY!"

* * *

{3rd Person POV}

Meanwhile, Marisa slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw when she regained consciousness was the hand of Alice Margatroid with the intention of helping to stand on her feet.

"Marisa! Are you alright?" Alice helped Marisa stand up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Marisa replied as she leaned on a tree. "What about Frank?"

"I'm not sure either as I was blinded at the same time as you," Alice answered. "I could only hope for his safety-"

Suddenly, the girls felt a strong gust of wind as someone flew by at breakneck speed.

"Who was that?" Marisa exclaimed. "That person flew too fast for me to identify, ze!"

"That person wore something red and white," Alice looked. "It can't be . . ."

* * *

Wait, did I hear that right? Did CANY have some sort of hierarchy in their ranks? The situation has just escalated to new heights due to this guy.

"Seven . . . Chaos Generals?" I said. "What kind of designation is that?"

"The Chaos Generals overseer the operations of CANY," Fidel replied. "I was the one who was charged with the invasion of Cybernetics Facility!"

The answer struck me down like a ton of bricks. He . . . was the one who ordered the attack on that area and ultimately responsible for the deaths of the people there? The image of Smith, his squadron, and their sacrifice began to throb in my head, all in the while my hands were gripping the ground as I glared at the monster named Fidel Jäger.

"Now that I've told you what you need to know, prepare to die!"

Upon his declaration, the battleship's weapons began to charge up. I couldn't evade this due to the attack being at point-blank range. I braced myself for the end–

[Music Change- watch?v=3Hp4SN93HTs "Strikers 1945 III Boss Theme - A Hysteric Woman Goes Over The Sun"]

"Spirit Sign - Fantasy Orb!"

Suddenly, multiple-colored orbs bombarded the battleship, interrupting the attack and saved my life.

"No one's going to die on my watch," A familiar voice declared. As I opened my eyes, I realized who the speaker was. Carrying an ofuda and a spell card, Reimu Hakurei arrived just in time, saving me from dying at the hands of the omnicidal Chaos General.

"Reimu, what are you doing here?" I said to the shrine maiden. "You've got to leave-"

"Frank, I didn't come here to see you die," Reimu replied. "I came here to help."

Meanwhile, the CANY battleship recovered, and from the monitor, I could see the helmet was slightly dislodged from Fidel, revealing his glowing yellow eyes that showed his hatred and malice towards us.

"You pesky shrine maiden," Fidel glared at Reimu. "Get out of my damn way!"

"Make me," Reimu dared as she gripped her ofuda and her spell card.

"Don't forget about us!" Marisa and Alice arrived at the scene, firing their danmakus at the battleship.

"Gah, these interlopers keep on coming!" Fidel grimaced as he tried to swat Alice and Marisa away.

"Reimu, we'll keep it busy," Alice added. "You'll help out Frank!"

As the two resident of the Forest of Magic distract the Chaos General, Reimu extended her hand to me.

"Frank, are you alright?" Reimu asked me.

"Yeah, I was just knocked down," I explained. "I managed to dodge the lethal blows though."

As I stood on my two feet, EVOLVE spoke up, delivering what was probably the most positive message that I've heard today.

_"Attention: Vital and mechanical systems are back online. Weapon Research Breakthrough: The EVO-Dynamos 100% complete and operational."_

Oh yeah, it's about time the research was done. With the new EVO-Dynamos, we could finally turn the tables on this battle!

"Weapon Research?" Reimu asked me. "What do you mean?"

"Eh, it's a special feature of the system," I answered. "I'll demonstrate it to you. EVOLVE, deploy the EVO-Dynamos!"

Upon my command, millions of microscopic nanites emerged from the battlesuit. The nanites began to bond with each other to form two floating drones with a black and white color scheme.

"So, those are the EVO-Dynamos," Reimu muttered. "It's not that impressive to me."

I was supposed to retort, but an explosion occurred nearby. Reimu and I looked at the direction of the explosion and saw Marisa and Alice struggling against Fidel's battleship.

"Uh, less talking, more danmaku, ze," Marisa interrupted as she and Alice flew to us. "Save the talk for later! We're getting pummelled here!"

"As much as I would disagree with her at times, she's right," Alice interjected. "And we're glad to see you alive, Frank."

Reimu and I nodded and we flew alongside them. All the while, Fidel's battleship was spewing missile and other danmaku at us, but as we dodged his attacks, it was clear that Fidel was getting restless.

"You pesky pieces of trash!" Fidel roared. "How dare you get in the way of my prey?!"

You know what; this guy's really getting on my nerves. As we flew and dodge projectiles, I glanced at the girls and saw that they were tired from the battle. We need to finish this guy quickly, or else we'll be too exhausted to continue fighting.

"Let me try something," I suggested. "The three of you hit him with your strongest spell cards."

"That's crazy," Reimu objected. "You could get hurt-"

"Reimu, teamwork is needed to defeat this monstrosity," I answered. "Trust me; it'll take much longer if we used the conventional methods."

"Yeah, I'm with him," Marisa agreed. "That bastard will pay for interrupting me earlier!"

"Every plan has its risks," Alice added. "But, if you're determined to carry it out, be my guest. I'll offer my full support regardless."

With that said and done, I fired a laser on the ground, churning up a dust cloud in the process. In the dust cloud, we split up. As the dust cloud cleared up for Fidel, he was surprised to see Reimu, Marisa and Alice surrounding him in all three directions.

"Now, tell me where that bastard is, and perhaps I'll let you three go scot-free," Fidel demanded. "Refuse and you all will suffer the same fate as him."

"We refuse," Reimu answered as she, Marisa and Alice dashed towards the battleship with their spell cards ready.

"Treasure Sign – Yin-Yang Orb!"

"Love Sign – Master Spark!"

"Curse Sign - Shanghai Doll!"

Two beams and multiple orbs flew towards the battleship. However, the arms and legs took the blow of Marisa and Alice's attacks, paving the way for Reimu's orbs to bombard the chest of the battleship with utmost impunity. Inside, Fidel was rocked back and forth as the orbs exploded on the main body, producing white-hot smoke from the impacts.

"Ha, is that all you've got?" Fidel bragged. "Despite losing all the limbs, your pathetic spell cards didn't make a dent on the body!"

"Is that what you think?" I said to Fidel. "Take a good look above you."

The battleship's main body looked up and it saw me and my EVO-Dynamos aiming our weapons on the crippled machine.

"I see; you used the energy of their spell cards to propel yourself above me," Fidel gritted his teeth. "But I don't see how your pansy-ass lasers would make a dent on my battleship."

"I disagree on that remark, you scumbag," I said as I aimed my laser cannons and the EVO-Dynamos at the battleship. "Sure, their spell cards didn't destroy you completely, but they weakened you enough for this coup de grace!"

Fidel tried to move the battleship, but to his dismay it just floated aimlessly in the air. Many parts of its armor were worn down or blasted away; also, the wiring and delicate electronics were fried by Reimu's spell card.

"Damn it, why won't this ship move?" Fidel frantically wrestled the control of his battleship, and then he looked above and uttered. "Oh crap-"

"Eat lasers, scumbag!" I screamed as the EVO-Dynamos and I began to spin my body while upside-down. "Rapid Laser Danmaku!"

My drones and I opened fire on the weakened CANY battleship. The damage input of the lasers fired by the drones was phenomenal. In no time, the lasers pierced what remained of the CANY battleship. Circuitry and metal parts were flying everywhere as the machine braced for its destruction.

"Gah, this mech can't take any more damage!" Fidel exclaimed. "You may have won this time, bastard, but I assure you; I'll be back!"

From the battleship's head, a pillar of light erupted, and I could have sworn to see someone whisked away in that light. I reckoned Fidel Jäger got away just in time, as his mech fell down to the ground and it was engulfed in a big explosion.

[Music End]

"Is it really over?" Marisa flew over and asked me. "Did we get him?"

"Yeah it's over alright, but that guy got away," I answered. "I'm sure he'll be back for his revenge."

"Just as I was going to breathe a sigh of relief," Reimu added. "I guess this incident isn't quite over."

"If that is the case," Alice asked. "It would be wise to prepare ourselves in case of his return."

"I think we should," I agreed. "Before we call it a day, I just need to do one more task. You all are free to accompany me. Trust me; it's going to be interesting."

* * *

Somewhere along the boundaries of Gensokyo, a wide, open smile was formed in the lips of Yukari Yakumo. She has witnessed the battle against the CANY battleship using her gaps. In particular, her interest perked when she saw the capabilities of the boy named Frank Shinka Kizuna.

"That boy never fails to surprise me," Yukari mused. "His potential to control those miniature machines is virtually limitless."

Satisfied at the results of the battle, Yukari opened another gap in a far distant future. Through this gap, Yukari saw a wrecked lab deep underground, and in that place a man tells a woman vital information that pique Yukari's interest.

"So, their names are Proton and Lumina Brown?" Yukari observed the two human scientists in the gap. "And that woman is the older sister of the boy? That deepens my interests even further."

Yukari closed the old gap and then opened a new one. She looked at her gap once more and saw the boy talking to three familiar girls. The unnaturally purple eyes of the blond youkai gleamed at this development.

"His behavior and prowess reminds me of a fallen human comrade many decades ago," Yukari muttered, and then she shrugged. "Never mind, but I shall plan to meet with you personally, Frank Shinka Kizuna."

* * *

Back at the Forest of Magic, Reimu, Marisa, Alice, and I walked into a clearing made by the battleship. It was already sunset, as our fight against the CANY battleship took hours to finish.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Reimu asked me.

The EVOLVE battlesuit glowed in a greenish light as the AI answered Reimu's question.

_"Affirmative: Area wide enough for deployment of the Command Center."_

"After all, Doc Brown did say that EVOLVE will help find the appropriate spot," I chuckled. "And the battleship somewhat helped clear the area for us."

I put the core on the ground and pressed the green button once more. As we stepped back, we could see the core unravel into a rectangular foundation. Suddenly, the EVO-Dynamos flew to the emerging structure to begin assembling its parts. I looked at the girls and I was amused at their dumbstruck faces as they continued to watch this spectacle.

Around seven minutes since the core was deployed, the EVO-Dynamos were done patching the final parts and behold, the command center was basking in the setting sun in all its glory.

"It's . . . beautiful," Marisa gasped.

"I do admit, that's quite a handiwork for a structure built so quickly," Alice added.

"So, you'll be staying there for now on?" Reimu asked me.

I looked at the shrine maiden and I couldn't tell if she was serious or not. After all, if I stayed in her shrine, she'll have to expend more just to feed two people. I chuckled lightly as I looked at Reimu to answer her question.

"You know, there's really no other place like home," I replied warmly. "The wonders of the future will never cease to surprise me."

**End of Chapter**

* * *

**In case you readers are confused, here are the things I wanted to point out:**

***1): And what Fidel said in his first scene in the third chapter is an indication of how really insane he is; it also doubles as a reference to StarCraft, particularly the unit quotations of the Terran Ghost.**

***2): From Wikipedia, Dogū are small humanoid and animal figurines made during the late Jōmon period (14,000–400 BC) of prehistoric Japan. If you readers still don't understand the Pokémon Baltoy and Claydol were also based on the Shakōki-dogū figurines. Here's an example: upload|.|wikimedia|.|org|/|wikipedia/|commons|/|6|/|6c|/|Dogu_Miyagi_1000_BCE_400_BCE|.|jpg**

**Just remove the "|" in the link.**

**Team Strikers Database Entry 1: The EVOLVE System**

**The EVOLVE (Evolving Valiant Offensive Linking Vigilant Environmental) system consists of nanomachines that can be condensed to form a battlesuit at the command of its user.**

**The EVOLVE system is the ultimate masterpiece of Yumemi Okazaki, who sought to create an AI system that is a mixture of science and magic after hiding from the scientific community for three years. She returned to the world to present her creation to her fellow scientists, but she was met with scrutiny and criticism. Nevertheless, she continued developing the system despite these setbacks. **

**During the early years of the CANY invasion of Earth, she passed away before she could complete the EVOLVE system, but she entrusted its completion to her two most trusted students, Proton Faraday Brown and Lumina Kizuna Brown.**

**The AI that manages the system is also referred by the same name. Despite being an AI-based machine, EVOLVE displays a good amount of independence and even a masculine personality. He acts as an advisor for Frank. The EVOLVE system is programmed to be loyal only to the user it has been entrusted to.**

**Features:**

**1) ****EVOLVE Combat Battlesuit Mark I**

**Function: Light Assault Armor**

**Durability: Medium**

**Movement Speed: Average (Land) and Fast (Air)**

**Attack Type: Ranged (Laser Cannons) and Melee (Close-Quarters)**

**Damage: High (Ranged) and Average (Melee)**

**Attack Speed: Fast (Ranged) and Average (Melee)**

**Abilities – **

**Enhanced Defense: Durability is passively increased as the battlesuit sustains more damage.**

**Auto-Passive Regeneration: The EVOLVE battlesuit rapidly heals Frank when he hasn't recently taken damage.**

**Anti-Gravity thrusters: The EVOLVE battlesuit grants its wearer indefinite flight.**

**Produces: EVO-Dynamos**

**Upgrades: N/A**

**2) ****EVO-Dynamo Mark I**

**Function: Combat drone/ Repair and Construction unit**

**Durability: Average**

**Movement Speed: Fast (Air)**

**Attack Type: Ranged (Laser Cannons) and Melee**

**Attack Speed (Ranged and Melee): Fast**

**Maximum Production Limit: 2**

**Abilities – **

**Battle Mode Protocol: EVO-Dynamos can switch from Offense mode to Defense mode automatically. Offense mode increases the attack power in exchange for durability, while Defense mode increases durability but weakens attack power.**

**Dynamo Replacement: Should an EVO-Dynamo be destroyed, another one will be produced to replace it in approximately 3 seconds.**

**Upgrades: N/A**

**End of Database Entry.**

* * *

**To be continued in . . .**

**Touhou Strikers: The Silver Lining**

**Chapter 4: Gensokyo – The Loyal Hunter's Playground**

**The next chapter is on its early stages.**

**So, please wait kindly until the next update . . .**


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